Ancient Freeze
“The Forbidden Weapon” Ancient Freeze is a boss in Blaster Master Zero, appearing as the mutant boss of Area 6. It later reappears as a mid-boss in Area 9. Physical Appearance Ancient Freeze consists of 25 units. They are all dome-shaped, with 18 being blue and 7 being orange. Like Remote Blaster, they all have gray metallic shells that they can shield themselves with. General Information Ancient Freeze appears as the mutant boss of the Glacier Area. Defeating it grants the Wall Climb, allowing SOPHIA III to climb up and down walls, as well as on ceilings. Attacks Ancient Freeze starts by freezing the room, causing the floor to be icy. Afterward, four of the units will have laser sights coming out of their shielded forms; if the player steps into the laser sights, they will disable their shields and each shoot a laser. Any other units will be shielded, randomly disabling their shields for a brief period. Mechanical mutants also spawn in from the corners of the arena. If the player melts any of the icy floor, Ancient Freeze can refreeze the area, returning the floor to ice, and potentially add spikes to the floor in various locations as well. Strategy As long as the player stays out of the laser sights, they will not shoot. There are also areas near the top corners of the arena that are safe from laser fire and the mechanical mutants. Despite this, it is actually recommended that the player passes by the laser sights at certain times, as Ancient Freeze exposes itself after firing them. Destroying the mechanical mutants is helpful for obtaining Capsules or decreasing the danger of the situation; however, they will respawn if all four are destroyed; they are weak to Diffusion. Using Reflect, Jason is able to nullify Ancient Freeze’s lasers. However, it is not recommended to go about the fight using Reflect exclusively, as even when using mostly perfect reflects, the battle is arduous and very time inefficient. Using Flame, Jason is able to melt the icy floor, allowing for easier movement and preventing the mechanical mutants from approaching. However, the player should be careful about Ancient Freeze’s ability to refreeze the area, as it can place down spikes, which can catch the player off guard. As the battle involves multiple targets, of which are usually lined up, penetrating weapons such as Penetrator or Wave are useful. Ancient Freeze is weak to Diffusion, causing it to be stunned for a period of time and taking more damage than usual. Despite this, Diffusion is not optimal due to the shear amount of targets needed to be destroyed. As Striker can hit all available targets upon hitting one valid target, it is the best Gun type for this boss, being able to wipe out all of the blue Ancient Freeze units at the very beginning at the battle, as they all expose themselves at the time and the blue ones have less health than the orange ones. By crossing the laser sights, dodging and countering appropriately, it can be defeated in less than 25 seconds. If Jason uses Remote Blast at the beginning of the battle, with targets evenly spaced (recommended three targets on the left and right walls, five targets on the top wall, and four targets, two on each side, at the bottom wall), and follows up with Striker, Ancient Freeze can be defeated before it ever gets a chance to attack. Destroyer Mode Ancient Freeze is immune to all Gun types except Blaster and Striker. Using the aforementioned strategy using Striker, the battle can be made relatively easy. Jason can also target the mechanical mutants with Striker, as they are immune to all Gun types except Flame. If Jason does not have Striker, he’ll have to rely on using his Blaster and Sub-weapons. Remote Blast should be used at the beginning of the battle in order to deal heavy damage and make the battle less threatening. From there, the player should damage the remaining Ancient Freeze units by shooting with the Blaster, or can alternatively use properly timed Grenades and Ignition Bombs. Category:Bosses Category:BMZ Bosses Category:Blaster Master Zero Category:Robotic Mutants